SiriusXM Believes the EDM Bubble Hasn't Even Come Close to Bursting

Most dance fans would kill to travel the world and attend all the dance music festivals this earth has to offer, but for Geronimo, the head of EDM Programming at SiriusXM Radio, it's just another day at the office.

As the program director for SiriusXM dance channels, he handles all six of the satellite radio provider's dance-centric stations, from the deep and tropical vibes of Chill (XM 53) to the historic soundscapes of Studio 54 (XM 54), even overseeing Tiesto's channel, Clublife Radio (XM 340). But one can only do so much in a studio. In order to continue to represent the audience and give them what they truly want, he's got to hit the pavement.

“A lot of people think 'the EDM bubble' may be on the way to bursting, [but we think it's] far from it and is actually not even fully blown up.”

“I'm better at my job when I'm out at the festivals amongst the listeners and the subscribers,” he says. “I get to see who our audience is. I get to see their reaction to certain songs, I get to see certain songs that may not initially give me that feeling that it'll work for radio, and then I see a crowd react and I realize I'm wrong.” He brings that knowledge back to the studio with him, then he wrangles the brightest stars from across the scene into one place for special subscriber-only events. It's SiriusXM's way of saying thank you for being a part of our family, now here's a salty, delicious treat for your ears.

For the 10th year in row, the SiriusXM Music Lounge lands in Miami for a star-studded three-day event, Wednesday through Friday of Miami Music Week, featuring performances from Ferry Corsten, Martin Garrix, Above & Beyond, Yellowclaw, Dirtybird players, and much more.

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The Lounge and its intimate performances has become a fan favorite this past decade, but it took Geronimo a lot of hard hours at the office to make it a reality.

“I had to do a lot of jumping up and down to let the people that I work with know that, 'Hey, this is our audience,'” he says. “This is a great opportunity for us to really have an impact.”

Afrojack and Martin Garrix inside the lounge.

Photo Courtesy of SiriusXM

It's grown each year and changed locations, but it's always been a leader in curating new talent. “We had a little known emerging DJ that we had our eye on perform for us, a guy by the name of Skrillex,” he says. “It was an intimate crowd of probably 250, 300 SiriusXM subscribers, and within two years he had the Grammy nominations, and then victories.”

He watched the same happen with Calvin Harris, among others, and he continues to keep a bird's eye view on the stars of the future.

“What's happening with the whole deep house, chill movement, and tropical house is just amazing,” he says. “Kygo is at the Lounge on Wednesday. He's really taken the world by storm.”

He's also excited to announce that, for the first time ever, SiriusXM will be live-streaming the Lounge performances and following Ultra Music Festival coverage 24 hours a day on its own special channel. “It just shows that the company in general really believes in this genre,” he says. “A lot of people think 'the EDM bubble' may be on the way to bursting, [but we think it's] far from it and is actually not even fully blown up.”

And why wouldn't he? He's constantly traveling the world, meeting with new artists, seeing what exiting things the genre has in store.

“This is a style of music where we are literally pooling music from every corner of the earth,” he says. “I get songs in from kids in their bedroom in Afghanistan that send me Soundcloud links. I get producers in New Zealand, producers in Japan. Some of them are high school kids and they're just creating new styles, new genres, and it just keeps going. The internet is obviously key to this, but we're engaged. We're ready to embrace [dance music], and SiriusXM has proven that we're not going anywhere.”

Sirius XM Lounge with Kygo, Nora En Pure, Ferry Corsten, Martin Garrix, Afrojack, Disclosure, and more. Wednesday, March 16, through Friday, March 18, at 1 Hotel South Beach, 2341 Collins Ave., Miami Beach; 305-604-1000; 1hotels.com/south-beach. This is a private event, but qualified SiriusXM subscribers will have the opportunity to win tickets to the event through dedicated listener emails.

Kat Bein is a freelance writer for Miami New Times and has been described as the publication’s "senior millennial correspondent." She holds a bachelor of science in journalism from the University of Florida and an impressive, if unhealthy, knowledge of all things pop culture. With a career emphasis on dance music, she is also a regular contributor to Billboard, Vice’s Thump, and Insomniac.com.